New Problems
by Reading Girl
Summary: There's a new kid at the BPRD, and she's, well, young. Ish. And the BPRD definitely ISN'T ready for a teenage girl, but that's what they've got... Chapter nine now up... Poor Cat!
1. Meet Cat

**Chapter 1: Awkward Introductions**

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from either the Hellboy comics or movies; I only own Cat.

The car door slammed and an inconspicuous girl got out. She was utterly unremarkable looking, with brown hair, medium-tan olive skin, brown eyes shot with muddy olive green. Her slightly weathered brown shirt and not-quite-new blue jeans only added to the effect. She was the type of person you forgot about as you as you saw them.

This girl is standing in a courtyard outside a building. A waste-disposal building, to be exact. She's accompanied by a man, an employee, and her name is Catherine, Cat for short. A wind blows over her and she shivers. Her and the man move inside.

The building is more than you would expect. In fact, it's the building housing the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. This girl is a new employee, a member of a top-secret task force. Even Cat has only the barest idea what she's going to be doing here.

...

**(half an hour later, Cat's point of view)**

I'm exhausted. It's all so new! I have no idea what I'm doing here. I haven't even met the people I'm going to be working with—apparently they're out or something. All I know is that there's three of them. It doesn't help the nervousness.

I mean, what do they want with ME? I'm just an average 17-year-old girl, really. I have a tendency to giggle too much on occasion and a passion for chocolate and I read too much! I'm just not save-the-world-hero material. Even my powers aren't glamorous. I'm just an over-grown garden witch. I mean, I can grow things. That's about it. I can grow things really fast sometimes, but it's still just growing them. And I don't think like other people sometimes, but I think that's the chlorophyll shutting down my mental processes.

Oh well, might as well try and get some sleep. I'm rambling. Probably the exhaustion and the cough drops getting to me. What with my sore throat, I've been living off the small, artificially cherry things for a week now, and I'm on the verge of hallucinating. Okay, think positive thoughts and SLEEP...

...

**(next morning)**

Cat woke up just as tired as she had been the night before. Though there was less cough drop in her blood, so she was slightly more lucid. She was awakened by a knock on her door. After throwing on a new shirt (this one a slightly different shade of brown) she answered it, to find a man.

"I'm going to lead you down to breakfast now. At breakfast you'll meet one of your new teammates. You'll meet the second immediately after breakfast, the third sometime after lunch. You ready?"

"Uhhmm... just a second." Cat ducked into her room, grabbing her belt, a wide strip of green cloth hung with all sorts of useful objects. Tying it about her waist, not bothering to thread it through her belt loops, she followed after the man now walking down the hall. Belatedly she realized she hadn't brushed her hair yet; fortunately it was fairly well-mannered and looked halfway decent even before she brushed it. Unfortunately it hung halfway down her thighs and was a dreadful nuisance. She was going to spend the morning having to continually push it out of her eyes, behind her ears and out of her food. She could tell it was going to be one of THOSE days...

...

**(dining hall, ten minutes later)**

"Do you like to eat anything in particular?" her warden asked.

"Lots of fruit and bread," said Cat. "Cheese. Vegetables and herb tea. Oh, and chocolate. Definitely chocolate. Though not generally for breakfast. Even I have my limits."

"What sort of tea?"

"I make my own. If there's a cup of hot water I could have I'll be fine."

"Just a second. I'll get you one."

"Thank you."

After going through the line to get her breakfast, Cat and her guide sat down. She busied herself with the water, adding a tea bag then leaving it to steep.

"What's in it?"

"Lots of things. Lemon balm, lemon thyme, citrus mint, rose hips and lemon peel. Those and belladonna, foxglove and wormwood."

"But those are poisonous!"

"I'm immune to all known poisonous plants. Though I have a mild allergic reaction to sage brush. It makes me swell up and get all drippy. I have no idea why. Even stinging nettles don't bother me."

"Interesting. So, I guess I won't ask to try your tea."

"Yes, that probably is for the best."

A mildly awkward silence falls. It's broken by someone else sitting down. She's fairly petite, blonde hair, a far cry from Cat's very definitely Eastern European features. Cat's dark where this woman is pale.

"Hold on a second, you have a leaf or something in your hair," she says leaning over and pulling it out. She's left perplexedly holding a shoot of a plant, roots and all, dripping a pale sap. Cat's breath hisses out in pain, eyes widening, before she ducks her head and grabs at her scalp with her arms, almost silently chanting owowowowowowow over and over and over. After a few minutes of this she looks back up. The woman is still holding the plant and both of her companions are staring at her. 'Uh oh,' thinks Cat. 'Bet the pains triggered my features again...'

"Umm...I'm sorry?" says the woman. "I'm Liz. You're Catherine? Excuse me saying so, but you seem to have grown fangs. And green stripes."

"I'm really sorry," says Cat. "the plants just grow in my hair, and their rather sensitive. It reeeallllyy hurts when they get pulled out, and pain reverts my features to this. Which is a bit of a bother. The fangs make it difficult to speak." Sure enough, her voice is slightly awkward and muffled. Her wild look is accentuated by the emerald slashes on each cheek bone, jagged edged and following the line of her face. Her eyes are the same color through and through, except for a deep brown pupil, slit-shaped. No whites.

"Uhh...What are those fangs for?"

"Biting. They excrete poison."

"Really?"

...

**(later that morning, next to Abe's tank)**

Refracted light from the water hit Catherine's face, accentuating her changed features. They were just starting to fade. She and Abe were getting on decently well, despite the slightly awkward introduction. Apparently Cat wrote poetry and had agreed to show Abe some of it on the condition that he "at least pretended to like it."

Catherine was turning out to have quite a sense of humor. Admittedly it was rather sarcastic and dry, but she was fairly good at using it. Actually, she was good at using it with people she felt comfortable with. So far, this only included Abe.

And that was that for the rest of the day. She was not introduced to her third teammate, for reasons unexplained. Cat was slightly curious as to why, but didn't press the issue. She was mentally and physically exhausted as it was, and though it was only three in the afternoon, she went to bed. And immediately fell asleep.

...

Twelve hours later she woke up. The building held the dead-quiet hush you get only when everyone is asleep. Cat loved this time of night. The time of night you could write. She crept down the stairs, (A/N: this is starting to sound unfortunately like "the night before Christmas"...gone wrong. Not that that's a bad thing, or anything... anyways, I digress.) and into the kitchen, which she had been shown on her tour of the establishment. She put on the tea kettle in as close to the dark as she could manage and still see, then settled down with her pencil and a pad of paper. Pausing only to pour herself some tea, she continued writing.

Forty-five minutes and several pages later, Cat looked up and stretched, yawning, much like her nickname-sake. Just as she was glancing away from the page, the door swung open. She sprang upright, instantly alert, and found herself face to face with a very large, very red, somebody.

"Who the hell are you!?" yelled Hellboy.

A/N: Oooh, cliffhanger! (sorta) Anyways, please review for me. Please please please? I'm really new...and nervous...do you like it? Do you not like it? Do you sorta like it? I won't know unless you click that special button!


	2. Awkward Introductions

**New Members, New Problems: Chapter 2**

**A/N**: Thank you many times over to absolutely everyone who reviewed. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!

**Shout-outs**:

**Mattb3671**: I'm rather fond of my OC as well. That's why I'm writing about her! Thanks!

**Silentkey**: Wait no longer!

**Steakums13**: Why thank you! Here's what happens when Hellboy finds her. Interesting reactions, don't you think?

**Dragoneyes171986**: Thank you again!

**Epalladino**: Thanks for noticing my stupid careless mistakes! When my editing side goes on vacation, good helpers like you are a life-saver for me. Plus I assume that I make at least some pointless mistakes, and seeing them written down means I know I haven't made too many. Probably.

**Lioness78**: And very right you are. As you shall see.

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Hellboy, Liz, Abe or the BPRD. However, BPRD not only stands for Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, but also for Bainbridge Parks and Recreation Department. Bainbridge is an island near where I live. Interesting, huh?

**Chapter Two:**

Cat leaned back in her chair, arms akimbo, one eyebrow raised, completely unfazed by the appearance of Hellboy.

"I'm Cat. Who're you?" she replied.

"Hellboy." The large red demon growled back, confused by her unsurprised reaction to him. Most people screamed, or fainted, or started praying at his well-over six ft. tall height, red skin, huge right hand, tail and horn stumps. But this (apparently) typical girl wasn't really reacting at all.

Hellboy walked across the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator, his back to the strange girl, stalling for time to think. He fished around inside the fridge, didn't find anything he wanted, closed it. He wasn't hungry anymore; he was too confused to be anything but confused.

When he turned around again, the girl was writing busily in her notebook, apparently ignoring him. Still writing, she stuck out a hand, feeling around until she found her cup of tea, almost knocking it, the sugar and her box of teabags over in the process. When she found her cup, still writing, she picked it up, shook it slightly, and, finding it empty, sighed and stood up.

The girl, Cat, walked over to the stove and put a tea kettle on the burner, putting a fresh teabag in her cup. All the while Hellboy watched her with a turmoil of emotions fighting inside him. Who the hell was this girl, what was she here for, and why in the name of God hadn't anyone told him?!

"Want a cuppa tea?" Cat asked.

"No." he said, flatly, sounding nastier than he had intended. The girl gave him a sideways look, both eyebrows raised this time. She paused for a moment, then rolled her eyes expressively.

"Geeze, I was just asking," she muttered, flipping her hair out of her face with an annoyed flick of her neck. "Bite me, why don't you?"

An awkward silence fell for a few minutes, broken by the shrill whistle of the tea-kettle. Finally Hellboy, reluctant, muttered "Sorry."

"Apology accepted," the girl said crisply, making it clear the subject was closed, as she poured the boiling water into her cup. Picking it up she walked back to the table, then sat down again, pulling the chair out with a foot before swinging herself carelessly into it.

"Have a seat," she said, gesturing vaguely at a chair across and a little to the right of her.

"I'll stand," Hellboy said, then added "Most chairs can't hold my weight." As his words faded into the nighttime quiet, yet another awkward silence grew, only accentuated by the ticking of the clock and the scratching of Cat's pen across the paper, both magnified in the silence.

"What're you writing?" Hellboy finally asked, gruffly, unable to take the silence anymore.

"Love poem!" Cat replied enthusiastically. "See, my friend has a **huge** crush on this one guy and wanted me to write something for her to give him, so I am, and it's _really_ fun, I get to use all the clichéd fluff I want, which I like, never get to do!"

Hellboy leaned back against the counter, his stone hand making an odd scraping noise against the polished granite countertop, one eyebrow raised questioningly. Love poems weren't up his alley. For that matter, neither wee teenage girls, let alones ones who wrote poetry at **all**.

At this point a yawning Liz shuffled in, obviously exhausted. Seeing Cat and Hellboy she gave a quick double take.

"Whoa! Oh, hello you two. Cat, this is Hellboy, the last member of our group of misfits. We were going to introduce you to him earlier but he was throwing a tantrum. HB, this is Cat, your new teammate, be nice to her."

"Yeah," drawled Cat sarcastically. "Seeing as I'm so innocent and easily hurt, poor harmless, helpless me."

Liz merely yawned again in reply.

"You look awful," said Cat, a warmly concerned tone creeping into her voice. "Here, have a cup of tea, you look like you need it." She turned around and busied herself pouring some of the still-hot water into a new cup.

"Here, it's chamomile. Good for sleeping. What brings you down here to join the party?"

"Nightmares," Liz said, her face swiftly changing from sleepy bemusement to chilling, sorrowful seriousness. She picked up her cup of tea and took a long drink, hiding her face from her companions.

Cat stood suddenly, pushing her chair back with a clatter. She strode defiantly over to Liz and wrapped her in a fierce hug. Then, blushing, she moved over to the stove and started putting still more water on to boil, making more noise than was perhaps needed in the process. Her back was turned, so she missed the grateful look that spread across the pyrokinetic's face, melting the sorrow it held.

At this pint Abe entered the kitchen.

"Why don't we save everyone a lot of time and just send out invitations?" asked Cat, exasperated. "I mean, _really_..."

"I gather I am not the only one having trouble sleeping tonight," the Icthyio sapiens said quietly.

"Liz had nightmares, I was hungry and Cat"

"Was writing." Interjected said person, interrupting Hellboy. "Is it just tonight, or does this happen regularly.

"Nope, just tonight," said Hellboy.

A quiet and reflective silence fell, more companionable than the earlier ones. After a minute, Cat sighed and closed her journal.

"Looks like the Fates have decided I've done enough writing for tonight..."

"Would you mind reading us a poem?" asked Abe. "Earlier you said you would share one with me, and there is no time like the present."

"Actually, I would mind," said Cat, looking slightly embarrassed. "This is my bits and pieces book that I just write the beginnings of poems in, the rough pieces. It is extremely private."

"Okay," said Abe.

"Why do we need this girl on our team?" asked Hellboy. "We're good enough without her and she's just a kid. Does she do anything?"

"Cat can control anything that is a plant or comes from a plant," said Liz.

"Cat can speak for herself," said Cat wryly. "It's why I was gifted with a tongue. Anyways, I can control anything that comes from a plant and I have fangs. I also am rather good with throwing knives."

"What good is _that_!?" asked Hellboy, sounding disgusted.

"For lots of things," said Cat. "For instance..." she trailed off, closing her eyes, her hair trailing over her face, effectively hiding it.

With a quiet rustling, the chair nearest Hellboy shot out a branch, wrapping it around his left hand, holding it against the counter. He had to struggle with it a little before it snapped.

When Cat looked back up, her face had reverted back to her less-human features.

"Drat, I hate it when I have fangs," she mumbled through a mouth full of tooth. "I can't pronounce anything right _at all_...Lord, this is annoying..."

"Okay, okay, you're useful." Muttered Hellboy.

"Good. We understand each other." said Cat coolly. "Now, I, at least, am tired and am heading off to bed. 'night, all."

"Me too," said Liz, getting up and leaving. "Goodnight!"

"I guess I will leave as well," said Abe, doing so.

Hellboy was left in the empty kitchen. Eventually he sighed and went back over to the refrigerator. He was still hungry.

A/N: Well, how was it? Why don't you send me an email or put out a review informing me? It makes me happy, might make you happy, and certainly won't make you feel worse. Win-win situation, eh?


	3. Field Work

**New Problems**  
Chapter Three: Field Work

**Disclaimer**: Don't own nothing but Cat and the plot. Understand?

**Shout-outs:**

**Underwater Owl: **I'm glad you like it! I think it's fun, too.

**dragoneyes171986: **Sorry I made you wait so long. (sheepish grin.) It's just life got ahead of me...Well, I hope to post another chappie today, so you'll forgive me?

**steakums13: **I'm happy you like Cat! She is too, actually. Cat is one of those people with one those personalities that makes you wonder, 'What on earth is wrong with this person?', closely followed by 'For someone with so many problems, she's surprisingly nice...'. Or at least in my mind.

**aiko alima:** Here is a new chappie! Sorry for the wait... (another sheepish grin.)

**SawCyn-WroteSin: **Feel free to do so. My plot hardly counts as "original" so I won't go hauling off and sue/hate/flame you if you use it. Especially not if you continue to leave nice reviews!

**lioness78:** And it shall happen. In the next chapter. Actually, it may be a bit two-sided...expect insanity. Fun insanity, though...

**mattb3671: **She is a tough chicky. And thank YOU!

**epalladino: **Has to be originally plant. Seeds work, so does paper, chairs, charcoal, canned pears, petrified wood, vegetable oil...those all work. But not metal, airplane food, glass, small mammals, etc. No size restrictions, however. She can do the same with a pinch of cinnamon as a redwood.

Now for the actual chapter!:

Cat went down to breakfast that morning still yawning. She hadn't managed that uninterrupted night of sleep she so desperately needed, and was being painfully reminded of it. Many times over.

She got herself some food, dragged herself to a table and sat down across from an equally tired-looking Liz, just as a blaring alarm went off.

"That's our signal," said the pyrokinetic, grabbing a piece of toast and getting up with a sigh, followed by Cat. They walked down the bustling hallways to a small(ish) room, where they were given a briefing on the 'situation' they needed to handle.

"It's a bunch of harpies," they were told. "So far there hasn't been any fatalities, just annoyances and a few close calls. Basically it's pest control on a major scale."

At this point Hellboy was looking extremely annoyed; he was not particularly interested in so-called 'pest control'. Abe looked as impassive as ever, Cat looked sleepy and Liz was almost dozing.

The briefing over they quickly went to a large not-quite-garbage truck and sat in it, settling down for a bit of a drive. Most of them settled down for a nap; Cat was asleep before they even left, curled up on a bit of the floor with a pillow she had grown from a piece of moss she had had in her pocket.

Several hours later they juddered to a stop outside of a forest; it was young-looking, thin and scraggly, the trees bent and unhealthy, choked too closely together. It was dusk, the light failing fast, the first wisps of mist emerging from the ground. A crescent moon gleamed dimly overhead. The harsh caws of crows and higher screams, more humanthough with avian over-tones,came from over the a small hill, one with a house perched on the top.

Cat, Liz, Abe and Hellboy started forward up the long, winding driveway to the house, moving as quietly as possible. Hellboy was in the lead, Cat last, and Liz, looking back, noticed she was walking with her eyes closed.

"You okay?" she asked the younger girl, concerned.

"Yeah," replied Cat. "In the dark I see better if I use the roots of the plants around me, and the rest of them as well, to see, well, more to sense, my surroundings. It helps if I block off other sensory perceptions while I do, and…Oh my god! There's a dead body to the left of us, in the trees!"

"Hb!" Called Liz. "Cat says there's a dead body in the woods."

"One of the agents'll go get it," he growled back. "I think I see the harpies around the house."

"Yup, that's them," put in Cat, eyes closed once more. "There's maybe a quarter of a hundred, give or take a few; most are sleeping."

"How can you tell?" asked Abe diffidently.

"The wood surrounding them. Organic material, animal or not, is a lot more aware than people give it credit for."

"Do you know where they are?" asked Abe, curious.

"No. Wood thinks as part of a whole. The idea of distance is alien, it is just part of everything else with no separation. So there are harpies near part of it, it knows that, but it cannot tell me _which_ part of it."

"Ah."

The group proceeded in silence for a little ways more, eventually reaching the large house. It was huge, obviously quite expensive; it towered above them, dwarfing them all.

"Stupid place to put a mansion," remarked Cat. "Even stupider place to put harpies. Why not Greece? Or even England. Or Ireland. Somewhere with a history. Not in some ridiculously rich person's house in the middle of nowhere on North America."

"I suppose we're just lucky it's not in the middle of New York," put in Liz with a sigh. "At least here we're not in the middle of everywhere. There's less people to panic."

"Good point."

Abe put a hand to the door, concentrating for a moment. "Their in the top-most floor. Let's head up."

The group entered the grim building, bunching together slightly more. Cat opened her eyes, revealing them back to startling green through and through, and they almost shone in the darkness, like cats' eyes. Around them, the walls started to shed their paint, growing branches and leaves once more, turning the house into a rustling maze of greenery.

"What are you doing, Cat?" asked Liz with a troubled look at the girl.

"I don't know," she said. "I can't…seem to…control it… But it is making it easier to see everything and _waitaminute, there's a harpy!_"

With a motion of her hand the girl caused the half-bird half-woman to be covered in a wave of greenery, the branches literally growing through it as it uttered a final piercing shriek. The only sounds to be heard in the room was the rustle of green things growing against each other and the dripping of harpy blood onto the floor.

"Heh…" said Cat weakly. "Lost control there…lord that startled me…" She looked a bit more green than normal.

"Damn," Muttered Hellboy. All that was left of the creature was a small, pitiful heap of flesh and cracked bone; the branches had gone through it as easy as thought. He had seen a lot, but that qualified as some of the worst he had seen.

Liz walked over toCat and gave her a supporting hug; she knew what it could be like to lose control. She had done it too often, herself.

"Let's move on," said Abe. "The harpies are up this way." Pointing up a curved flight of stairs disappearing into the murk that had fallen with the setting of the sun. Hellboy, on the basis that he was the one least likely to have trouble with damage, went first up them. The others followed, hearing the straining of the stairs under him as he went.

The room was dark and filled with the rustling of feathers. Cat could feel the eyes staring down at her out of the darkness, but she couldn't see anything until one of them suddenly burst into fire, illuminating the room. Across the room a few were seized and choked by branches, and then a few more enveloped by the rafters they were sitting on, swallowed into the wood. Hellboy pulled out his Samaritan and shot a few, while Abe stood back.

Eventually they were all dead, close to dead or in multiple bleeding pieces. The four began to leave the room, now a little bit the worse for wear. It had been, as advertised, pretty close to supernatural pest control. Except for that body…

Deep in the darkness, a figure stirred. Ancient ligaments stretched over aged-ivory bones; lapis lazuli eyes glinted through a cover of dust while silky muscles stretched together. And something that was not alive…lived.


	4. Personality Clashes

**New Problems  
Chapter Four: Personality Clashes**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own it. Never will.Except for Cat.Unless I become very rich and famous and buy it. Which is...unlikely. To say the least.

The next morning Hellboy was sent to get Cat from her room for a talk with Professor Broom about how she was doing in her new home. Now he's standing outside her door.

**Knock knock**

No response.

**Knock KNOCK**

Nothing.

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

A vast nothing happened.

"Cat!" he yelled.

"**I know you're in there!"**

"COME ON! ANSWER THE DAMN DOOR ALREADY!!"

"Okay, you _asked _for it…!" And with that Hellboy broke down the door, crashing into the room just as Cat walked out of the attached bathroom with a rush of steam. She was wearing only a towel wrapped loosely around her waist, her hair wet and plastered to her shoulders; apparently she hadjust gotten out of the shower.

Hellboy paused for a minute, unsure of how to react to his half-naked teammate. While he dithered over what to say, Cats' face gradually made the journey from shocked to furious.

"**OUT!"** she yelled, transferring the towel to cover her up better. Several vines came lashing from the various corners of the room, grabbing him and bodily throwing him from the room. He crashed into the wall across the hallway from her, just in time to watch a full oak tree grow—in the space of a few seconds—to cover up her doorway.

A few minutes later a hastily-dressed Cat came storming out, the tree moving to allow her passage. Her eyes were all-green again, with fangs and stripes visibly apparent. This time, however, she had grown a series of woodenspikes, maybe two inches long each,running along the backs of her arms, paired with wing-like protrusions on her back, while the striping continued all over her body in strange, twisting designs. Her arms were held akimbo.

"What…on…**earth** did you think you were doing!" she hissed.

"I didn't know you'd be in the shower!" protested the devil, still sprawled on the floor.

"That's why there's a **door**." She responded dangerously. Undisguised fury was radiating off of her.

"You weren't answering!"

"So you could have waited! Done something besides destroy my door and walk in on me!"

At this point both parties were yelling at full volume.

"You could have been listening!"

"The problems is not in me not listening but in you not waiting!"

"It is not a problem! If you had _answered_ I wouldn't have done it!"

"Both of you stop it at once!" said a stern voice to the side of them.

Turning to look, Cat saw Professor Broom. "You're behaving like children! Cat, you're overreacting. Hellboy, you _should_ have knocked."

Cat looked at him with poisonous fury in her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed," she spat "I **am** a child." And with that she stalked into her room, splitting the tree trunk in two with her passage into her room. It snapped shut sharply behind her, efficiently cutting of the conversation.

Broom gave a deep sigh. He was too old to deal with a teenager.

A/N: Sorry its short. But I **did** update twice in one day! It's my way of making up for the delay. Sorry about that… (cringes away).

Anyways, as always, review review review! Please!


	5. Resolved Issues and Plot Developments

**New Problems **

**Chapter Three: Resolved Issues and Plot Advancements**

**Shout-outs:  
**_theshadowcat_: I'm glad you're enjoying this! I hope you like this chapter as well!

_epalladino_: You're right. Two teenagers (caught me out, there, didn't you?) are more than any person should have to deal with. Let alone two teenagers so spectacularly untypical...

_dragoneyes171986_: You forgive me? Oh, _good_. I'd hate to lose one of my wonderful faithful reviewers! And I'm even happier that you like it! I still can't believe it... ::wanders off mumbling to self about people _liking _the story...::

**And now it starts!:**

An alien presence stumbled through the night, tearing through the silky darkness, the creak of its aged bones rubbing against each other sending vague echoes through the trees. The foreststrained around its invading presence, the pops and snaps of roots and limbsfalling intothe empty, silent void the night had become. The warmth was leeched from the moon and star light; branches shuddered as the invading miasma of the creatures' soul stumbled onwards, its footprints taking the nutrients and potential from the soil, leaving infertile, dry-cracked clay in its wake…

At the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense trouble was brewing. Cat was still in her room, refusing to come out or even get rid of the tree she had grown to cover her door; so far it had resisted any and all attempts to cut it, the tree healing itself _around_ any axe used in attempts to fell it. Hellboy was off sulking; Liz was trying to avoid getting involved in the argument that had happened twenty-four or so hours previously, and Abe was simply not participating.

Professor Broom was in his study, thinking. He didn't know what to do with his two teenaged (and unfortunately strong-headed) charges. They would both butt heads again, he was positive, but he couldn't afford to have them fighting while they were on the job. What's more, he felt genuine care for both of them, especially for the demon he called his son. He wanted nothing more than for them to get along. Then he had an idea…

A little while later we find Hellboy and Cat arranged in his office, neither recognizing the others' presence, or even existence, and seated on opposite sides of the room.

"What do you mean, we need to spend so-called 'quality time' together?!" demanded Cat.

"Just what it sounds like, as I've explained several times prior to this," said Broom tiredly, absentmindedly rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"_What_ a brilliant idea," drawled the plant-person, voice laden with sarcasm "Let's stick two potentially highly destructive individuals with no common interests who don't even get along together for several hours just for the fun of it!"

"I'm afraid you both have to do this. That's my final word."

"Do **what**? _I_ like gardening, writing and tea. I doubt **_he_**" the word was spat out with utmost disgust "shares the same interests. Though I suppose we could always sit around and make" a grimace "pleasant conversation."

"Why don't you try gardening? There's an old plot out back that hasn't been used recently; it needs weeding and such but you're welcome to take over it. Hellboy could help you with that, right?" the old man said mildly.

"You're bribing me, aren't you? Just so you know, just because I accept the bribe doesn't mean I'm over the issue."

Professor Broom made a non-committal noise.

"You're still going to make me do this, aren't you? **Damn**."

Hellboy growled from his corner, his eyes glowing creepily in the shadowy dark. Him and Cat shared identical (well, other than the obvious unchangeable physical differences) glares in the others' directions. Professor Broom gave instructions to a shed where they could find gardening material and the at-odds pair left the room.

Yet another little while later we find Cat angrily stabbing at the ground with a weeding fork, prying up knots of weeds and angrily flinging the dismembered bits of plant onto a growing pile. On the opposite side of the garden Hellboy was doing relatively the same thing, though he wasn't using his full weight or force behind the pulling or prying.

"Hmmm…" hummed Cat, investigating a small plant she had found. "**In**-ter-esting… An old daylily hybrid… 'Three Bars' potentially…" then, louder, "Hey, Hellboy! Could you toss me that big plant with the strappy green leaves over to me? No, not that one, the one over… Yeah, that's it! Just pry it out with the weeding fork…"

Hellboy reluctantly threw over the big clump of dirt, green matter and roots to her, Cat catching it before laying it down on the soil. Reaching around behind her back she produced a hand trowel and starting poking around in the plants' root ball, apparently looking for something.

"Hmm… This one's a daylily too, a _reallly_ old one. Needs dividing, but worth salvaging… To the kitchen!" And with that the girl dashed off. A few minutes later she was back, with butcher knife in tow. Flashing a bloodthirsty grin, she beckoned Hellboy over. "Here's how you divide a plant…"

Half of a very sweaty hour later the two people (beings?) were splattered in mud and bits of plant, looking down at approximately thirty-four new plantlets, all of good size.

"And that's how you divide a plant," said Cat decidedly.

"Hacking it into pieces can't be good for it, can it?" asked Liz, who had come over to watch.

"Surprisingly enough, yes. Daylilies get crowded, so to speak, over the years, and the only way to remedy the problem is too hack it into pieces. You can use hori-horis (1) instead of butcher knives, or scissors for more delicate plants, but in the end it's all the same."

"So, how do _you_ react to being sliced into small bits?"

"That's different. _I _don't off-shoot." Said Cat in a mock-superior tone. "I'm closer to, say, a willow." After a few minutes she winced. "However, I don't think that my fingers will root if you chop them off and leave them in a bucket of water. Or that my sap will similarly root roses."

"That's not a pretty picture," said Liz cheerfully.

"Nope, it 'tisn't!" the younger girl said happily.

"What do you mean, sap?" said Hellboy, frowning slightly at her use of the term. The two were getting along better after mauling an elderly daylily.

"I am, technically speaking, bloodless. I've got sap instead, or at least most of the time. It's rather complex, I think; sometimes I bleed red, other times clear or milky." Said the girl.

A sudden shudder ripped through her body, throwing her to her knees. She blanched, simultaneously reverting to her demonic form, her breath coming hard and her heart pounding. As Liz rushed over, Hellboy standing nearby, shocked at her sudden fit, she slowly slid into darkness…

Slowly she regained consciousness to the worried expressions of Liz and Abe; Hellboy was hovering in the corner, looking simultaneously bored, unconcerned and slightly nervous, the at-odds expressions warring in his face. As her eyes slowly blinked open her watchers breathed sighs of relief.

"What happened?" asked Liz.

"Something… evil…" breathed the girl. "Felt it. Through the trees… It's like the wildfire, only worse…" her breathing was still ragged, her eyes wide with barely contained panic. As she regained lucidity and memory her breathing eased and she calmed.

"It was as if someone walked over my grave," she stated, using an old expression. "You know how I could feel the harpies through the wood in that house? It was like that, except I was getting _emotion,_ a **reaction** to something. I didn't know trees could feel that…" she finished, ending with wonder touching her voice.

A doctor bustled over busily, as only a busy person can bustle. "All of you need to leave now," he stated, his haughty voice indicating his approval of Icthyio sapiens, demons, pyrokinetics and botanokinetics/ botanopaths (2). Liz and Able left, though Hellboy lingered for a while. The good doctor's bravery ended at six or seven foot people with a tail, horns and red skin, and he left, his very walk indicating huffiness.

"I'm… I'm glad you're okay." Hellboy said gruffly, before turning sharply and walking away.

(1) hori-hori: Japanese weeding knife. The single best gardening tool in existence. Like a really dull knife with a slightly trowel-like shape, sharp tip and one serrated edge.

(2)Really, REALLY made up words. Botanokinetic: one who can mold greenery to fit her will. Botanopath: one who can sense emotions/thoughts from live plants. You are free to flame me for mauling both English and Latin like this, though preferably not for anything else.

Please, as always, REVIEW! Truly, it makes me blissfully, completely happy beyond everything else.


	6. Fluff!

**New Problems: Filler and Fluff!**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! .:author breaks down sobbing:. Well, except Cat. .:smiles through tears:.

**Shout-outs:**  
Theshadowcat: Well, I dunno... Growing and changing could be a bad thing too. People who **write** in IM shorthand bother me. I swear it's a plot to destroy the world... I have no problems with it used in author's notes, but in an actual fic I can't stand it. Thank you for your wondermous reviews!

Umbra the Dark: You like them? .:wonders:. My words, I mean. I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for the review!

Lioness78: Three reviews? That makes me feel so special! Thanks for brightening up my day with them. .:smile:. And yes, there may indeed be liking on the part of Hellboy. Oh yes indeedy...

epalladino: Sorry, but short is the way I write. And that chapter was four pages, actually! Which is really good for me. I average between two and three, so consider it a near miracle.

Anna-Melinda: You really think it's brilliant? .:wonder once more:. There must be an explantion... Something quantum has gone wrong with the universe! No one to ignore, but thanks for your kind advice and excellent review!

**Let the ficcage begin:**

The next day, at around ten, found Cat moving around, albeit rather shakily. She carefully made her way down to breakfast, collapsing into her seat upon arrivalwith considerable relief.

"What's wrong?" asked Liz, concern for her friend tingeing her voice.

"Nothing much. I just came down with a case of powdery mildew, probably from the shock of my collapse. It means lots of sunshine and rest for a few days, but it's not serious. Wouldn't get it normally, but, like I said, my system was compromised and this came through."

"Tough luck. Powdery mildew, though?"

"Like I said, I'm part plant and part human. Means I can get both colds **and** the botanic equivalent of them."

"Fun. Bet winter's pretty hard on you."

"Oh, definitely. Not enough air circulation and sunshine, too much damp. It's absolutely miserable."

"How's your breakfast?"

"Pretty good. But then, I've always liked French toast, no matter how badly it's cooked." After a moments' thought she added "Not that the cooking's bad, just that I'd like it even if it was. Waitaminute, now I'm confused. Oh, hell."

Liz giggled helplessly at the verbal trap Cat had set up for herself. Acting mock hurt, Cat shot her an aggrieved look and then stuck her tongue out at the older woman playfully, only sending her into further paroxysms of laughter.

"Want to go work in the garden?" asked Cat as Liz started to show signs of stopping, or at least slowing down.

"Sure!"

The sun was bright overhead as the two people walked out to the plot and began to work, Cat showing Liz the rudiments of soil amendments.

"This is bone meal, then that's blood meal and then, in order, comes kelp meal, horn-and-hoof meal, kelp meal and then nitrogenous rock. This jug is liquid kelp, and the other one dilute fish emulsion. Also, compost, alfalfa pellets and, finally, sterilized sand. (1)"

"Are you sure that's really all we'll need? Why don't we just bury a whole cow and save a lot of time?" said Liz, half-joking and half serious.

"Probably a good idea. Anyways, all the meals are sources for nitrogen, potash and phosphates. Kelp meal and fish emulsion are for the same things, as well as having high doses of trace nutrients. Compost is to neutralize the soil as well as enrich it, alfalfa pellets to add more organic matter and the sand is just in case something I plant needs better-drainingsoil."

"Sounds…complex. Where do we start?"

"Give a good sprinkling of nitrogenous rock, bone meal and blood meal, then a lighter sprinkling of kelp meal and horn and hoof meal. Then I'll follow up with compost; the alfalfa, sand, liquid kelp and fish emulsion'll be doled out once the plants are in the ground. It's hardly an exact science."

"What plants?"

"That's what I'm going to be working on."

Cat went to a patch of grass a little ways away from Liz and pulled out several packets, each, coincidentally, containing seeds. A few minutes' worth of concentration per packeton Cats' part produced several seedlings, each one grown to a developmental stage of a few months or so.

After the soil was suitably improved Cat and Liz took a quick break for a picnic lunch, and then plugged in a few of the not-quite-seedlings, chatting aimlessly about what they liked in a garden. Cat jotted down a few notes concerning shrubs, bulbs, grasses (2) and the placement thereof, and then they retired back inside.

Cat was walking down the hall, back towards her room, supporting herself with one hand against the wall. Her breathing was slightly shaky; she was still feeling the results of the previous days' collapse, the powdery mildew and the exertion her powers caused. A slight rough patch in the floor made her trip, falling backwards. Slight dizziness still lingered, and it was _just_ enough to send her to the ground.

Except that she was caught. After she regained her balance she turned around, as quickly as her circumstances allowed, to find herself facing Hellboy. A slight blush started on her cheeks, not particularly noticeable.

"Umm… Thanks," she managed.

"No problem." HB growled at her, voice rough to hide his embarrassment.

She put out a cautious hand, touching his arm gently. "You didn't have to catch me," she said quietly. Then, blush more apparent, she walked off. Hellboy watched her go, surprise on his face, absentmindedly touching the spot she had held him as he stared at the corner she had disappeared around.

(1) In case you're wondering where Cat got all this from, she took them to the Bureau with her. Obsessive gardeners are like that. She managed to fit most of this into two suitcases "and change". She left her clothes behind when she moved, but not her soil amendments.

(2) She doesn't carry bulbs because they don't stay viable long, as well as space restrictions and bruising worries, not to mention the difficulties of keeping them in the right conditions. Shrubs generally need grafting, something she can't manage reliably, and grasses don't come true to seed. Which is why she needs to purchase/beg/steal them off of other people. And yes, there actually are problems with people stealing plants. Let's put it this way: ever heard of "rose rustling"?

A/N: I have no doubt a lot of avid HB/Liz fans are now angry at me. But at least hear my reasoning? First off, HB is still in a more teenagered stage of his development. Liz is considerably older, developmentally speaking. I see their friendship as just that—friendship. Also, in the comics they both have a long history of breaking up and then getting back together again, with neither particularly happy with the situation. I just see him'n'Cat as better suited to each other.


	7. Further Developments

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to LalaithCat. Thanks for faithful reviewing and support, Lali!

**Mistakes: Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer:** It would take forever to list everything that's not mine. So I'll list everything that is: Cat. That's it. Nothing more.

**Shout-Outs:  
**_Nightbug08:_ I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for reading!

_Boogalaga:_ Your wish is my command! Not really, but hey...

_Umbra the Dark:_ Thank you! I'm just a different sort of person, I guess...

_SawCyn-WroteSin:_ Thanks again! I'm feeling rather repetitive today... Well, shout-out writing block is much better than the normal type...

_lioness78:_ Thanks for your opinion! I'm afraid I have no plans to make Hellboy fall in love with the toothfairy; I hope you're not terribly disappointed. And I agree with your fanfiction approach to romance... I personally don't get rabid about anything like that; I tend to be fine with pretty much anything.

_theshadowcat:_ I'm so sorry, but my muses do what they will... They are most definitely out of control. **Very** out of control.

_epalladino:_ Thank you! .:blushes:. You like my fluff? I tend not to be fluffy, so I was wondering about that...

_LalaithCat:_ Yellow fabrics? As in the brownish ones that won't be rolling hills? Heh. Equal amusement. Thanks for your review, Lali!

**Let there be fic... and there was:**

The next day's dawn rose above Cat, who was out gardening. She dug her shovel in with a cheery smile at no one in particular, muttering slightly to herself. "Weed, weed, weed, worth saving, seeds worth saving, weed, old trowel, weed, tree root, weed, old garden plant. Great!"

She slowly worked her way over a rather impressive area, clearing it steadily. By the time midmorning broke she was covered in dirt and sweat. In short, she was ready for a break. She gathered up her tools, stuck some salvaged plants into a few assorted pots and headed in for a shower.

Reaching her room, the door still a tree, she walked in and stripped off her clothes, leaving a trail behind her as she headed for her attached bathroom. Walking into her small and utilitarian shower she turned on the hot water, soaking under it happily. After a while of sheer relaxation she washed her hair and body, rinsing herself off as she luxuriated in the miracle of hot water.

Wrapping a towel loosely around her waist she walked into her bedroom, flopping down onto the bed with a sigh. She looked around at her surroundings; whitish walls, small window, bed, desk and chair. A single shelf, looking rather morose with only a few small personal belongings to hold. That was pretty much it, except for the closet, which held all her gardening supplies. All in all, it was rather depressing.

Cat looked down at her hands. They had dirt ingrained into them, something no amount of water would remove. There were also a few odd bruises where she had whacked something hard or pulled a muscle and a couple of scratches from blackberries and some old raspberries completed the lovely picture.

She looked closer. Faint green striping could be seen; she looked more carefully. Striping over her whole body, the jagged-edged stripes she got when she was really angry, winding over her. The color was slowly darkening, the edges becoming clearer and the color less and less her brownish skin tone.

Getting up to look in her mirror she looked at her eyes; the white was taking on a greenish tint and the green in her hazel eyes was strengthening. Her iris was lengthening, no longer circular but not the cat-eye slit of her panicked or power-using form, instead somewhere in-between.

Cat took a deep breath, than another, breathing in slowly and carefully. She wasn't panicked. She wasn't angry. She hadn't grown anything, changed any plant in any way. She hadn't been showing high emotion of _any_ sort; maybe some mild depression, but nothing major. She wasn't even hugely happy before her shower. She had been experiencing day-to-day emotions.

Closing her eyes Cat took several more deep breaths, calming herself. She looked back at her arms. Still striped.

Slowly she got dressed, then walked over to the door, placing each foot deliberately, with great care. She walked down the hallway, feeling the beginnings of panic stirring inside of her. She didn't like it when her body did new things without telling her beforehand…

Professor Broom looked up as a knock sounded on his door.

"Come in," he called.

The door swung open, revealing what looked like a furious Cat: she had stripes, all-green eyes with slit pupils and fangs. Her face, however, looked somewhere between forcedly calm and panicked.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not angry, I'm not scared, I'm not much of anything except panicked, which I wasn't when _this_ happened," said Cat, gesturing at her appearance. "This has never happened before. I wasn't messing with plants, I wasn't even particularly happy, but my body decides to get all defensive on me… I'm scared. There are no threats, no reason at all for my body to do this, but it is. And it hasn't told me why."

"Maybe the doctors will be able to say more?" suggested the Professor. "It may be a medical thing… maybe your powdery mildew triggered it?"

"I've had powdery mildew before, along with most of the common gardening ailments, and this has never happened. **Never**."

"Come on, then, let's go see a professional…"

An hour later found her eating her lunch, slightly shaky.

"What's with you?" asked Liz, sitting down next to her. "You don't look that angry, more slightly startled, which doesn't explain the stripes. And fangs. And eyes."

"Turns out that I'm going to look like this 24/7," said Cat gloomily. "I guess I developed far enough that now it's just who I am… the doctor said something about hormones and development. I just got out of there before he started doing the 'changing bodies' speech."

"Really? That's different. What do you think?"

"I don't _know_ what to think! I'm fine with it, I think, I mean, I was like this some of the time before, but I don't like it when things just… happen! One minute I'm boringly average Cat and the next I'm demonic plant lady Cat! And I didn't even get a memo!"

"Ohhh…" breathed Liz, leaning over to give her a comforting hug. "It's not all that bad…"

Cat stifled a small sob then said, voice muffled, "I know, and that's almost the worst bit. I shouldn't be this… this… sniffly about it—I'm downright whingey—but I just… can't seem… to help it!"

A few slightly wet minutes later Cat spoke again. "It's mostly just the shock, I think…"

"A quick question?" asked Abe, who had come in a little while ago and had been unnoticed. "What's with 'whingey'?"

Cat flushed slightly. "I tend to use made-up words when I'm upset."

"Ah."

**A/N**: That pretty periwinkle button in the corner will be lonely if you don't click it... be friendly with it and it will deliver reviews unto you as well! Assuming you write...


	8. Slight Filler and Character Development

**New Problems Chapter Eight: Slight Filler and Character Development**

**Disclaimer**: Cat is mine. Nobody else is. Understood? Excellent. My work here is done.

**Shout-outs:**  
_boogalaga:_ .:hides:. Ahhhh! I am very much indeed scared by your scariness. I obey your demands to update! And next time go after my muses; they're _really_ the ones to blame. No, not me at all...

_Umbra the Dark:_ Yes, very definitely! Thanks for your review!

_LalaithCat:_ Ah. InterNutter is getting to you. But she hasn't updated! You'll have to draw pictures of Sarah and Mort to make up for it. Just to be mean, I have a special message just for you: Don't think of pictures of Sarah/Mort/Logan/Scott cheerleading. Or dancing, but to **that** mental imgage you can(orcan't. Remember, this is what you are **not**supposed to visualize)add various Star Wars characters...

_theshadowcat:_ They are very naughty muses. But they have been cooperating for this chapter! It's been only... One week! To the day.

_lioness78:_ Thank you for your review! I put in the little ficlet I wrote from your inspiration at the end of the chapter. I just couldn't resist.

_epalladino:_ Thank you as well! And look, I'm updating **before** a month has passed!

Believe it or not, actual fic is featured below! And, at the end of the chapter, a random special bonus.

Later, the evening of the same day of the previous chapter:

**Knock knock**

"What're you two doing in there?" growled Hellboy.

"Girly things. Go away." Responded Liz. She was holed up in her room with Cat on the basis that they needed some time to be, well, girly. So they had decided to spend the evening in Liz's room, watching The Princess Bride, eating chocolate and talking.

Heavy footsteps announced Hellboy walking away down the hall. The two girls turned back to each other. "Well," said Cat "What were you saying again?"

"Oh, nothing much, just that we should do this every so often. I think Abe and HB need a reminder that we're girls every so often."

"Good point."

"Yup. Plus I like spending time with another female… (1)"

"Me too. Haven't had much time to, previously."

"I understand. I accidentally burned down my neighborhood when I was younger… destroyed it entirely."

Cat winced in response. "Uncontained plant growth. I was near someone trimming a hedge—heavily, mind, just hacking at it; normal pruning doesn't hurt—and I started to _feel_ it, like **I** was the one he was cutting, and I guess everything just exploded into bloom as a response, covering everyone in the area with green things… My fangs had showed themselves, along with everything else, and I ran down the street, people staring at me like I was a monster, and seeds and whisps of weeds growing into a green carpet on the sidewalk behind me… I hid in a local park for a while, and they put the plant growth down to wonky fertilizer and increased rainfall."

"How old were you?"

"Let's see… I would have been nine, then."

"That early?"

"Don't ask me. I know just as much as you do."

"Or just as little," said Liz dryly.

That startled a laugh out of her and she settled down to watch her favorite part. "My name is Inigo Montoya," she muttered along with the movie. "You killed my father. Prepare to die."

"Like it, huh?" Liz said dryly.

"It's a great line! How could you not like it?"

"Good question. What do you think of your new features, now you've had a little while to get used to them?"

"A little while? Liz, it's been all of half a day."

"Really? It seems longer than that."

"Not to me. I'm still jumping every time I see myself in a mirror… I guess I wasn't any great beauty to start with, so now I'm not even vaguely human I'm hardly losing in that department. And I'm getting better at talking without impaling my tongue on my fangs. The worst part is my eyes."

"Really? Why?"

"Everything looks… sharper. And my depth perception's gone odd. Things just… don't look right."

"You know, I don't think you're ugly like that. Yeah, you don't look like you used to, but it's nice. In a different sort of way, yes, but similarity isn't everything."

"Liz, I look like I had a mad tattoo artist set loose on me."

"You act like that's a bad thing."

"And then there's the cat eyes,"

"They're a pretty shade of green."

"And the fangs…"

"Okay,_ they're_ a bit off-putting, but you can hardly notice them unless you know they're there."

"Liz, the only people I see know me **and** the fact that I have fangs."

"Why are you unable to take a compliment?"

"Why are you insisting on giving me false compliments?"

"I am not."

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are… oh god. Did I seriously start doing that?"

"Yes."

"You have such a bad effect on me!"

"Admit it, then… stripes, plant-filled hair and the eyes are attractive."

"I have only your opinion on that."

"Hellboy thinks so too."

There was a brief pause. "How do you know?" asked Cat tentatively.

Liz sighed. "I've lived around him ever since I was brought in by the BPRD. I know him pretty well at this point. And he's hardly one to object if you don't meet the normal standards for beauty."

Cat blushed slightly, in green. "I thought you were in love with him," she said.

"No. We're old friends, but we're not in love. I mean, we love each other, but more in a brother-sister sort of way, not the way I think he loves you… Oh damn, now I'm all confused."

"Not half as confused as I am."

(1) If Liz seems totally OoC, this is because I figure all girls need time to be girly; this manifests from time to time. I am **not**, by any stretch of the imagination, like this all the time. I do, however, do this on occasion. And everyone should watch The Princess Bride, right after they read the book, which is better.

A/N: This is a little ficlet that was inspired by a question asked by my reviewer, Lioness78: What would happen if Cat started sprouting little ones, like a real plant? Well, this is my view of it… I have decided to post it at the end of this chapter just for amusements sake.

HB: What just ran by?

Liz: I don't know, what did just run by?

HB: It looked like little greenish babies.

Liz: looks at HB oddly

HB: What? It did!

Abe: (walks in) You know, I swear I just saw little green children running by me...

Liz: It's catching.

Cat: (runs by) Get back here, menaces! What have I told you about eating my soil supplements?

Liz: Cat, what do you know about the rash of small green children seen recently?

Cat: Uh, nothing? Maybe it's leperchauns... yeah, leperchauns. It's around St. Patrick's Day...

Abe: If that was true, we'd have bunnies with eggs instead of small green things.

Cat: (stalls for time) Well, what if I told you something very _interesting_ has been happening to me recently...?

Liz: Okay, what have you done **now**?

Cat: It's not **my** fault I started growing vegetative children one day!

Abe: Oh God…

HB: Oh damn…


	9. Poor Cat

**New Problems: Chapter Nine**

**Disclaimer:** None. Of. It. Is. Mine. Happy? Good.

**Shout-outs:**  
_epalladino:_ Thank you for another very nice review! I'm glad you thought Liz was in-character. And I'm so sorry I didn't update quickly...again!

_boogalaga:_ Thank you! Actually, I was surprised how many people like the ficlet... it was certainly a bit of a surprise to me, at least.

_lioness78:_ Sorry, no Cat and Hb fluff this time around, but definitely next chapter. Oh yes... I have **plans.**

_Umbra the Dark:_ Unfortunately for me, my quick updates seem to have ended... Oh well. I'll manage somehow, maybe... Thank you for your review!

_theshadowcat:_ Thank you! Reviewers like you make me happy...

_SawCyn-WroteSin:_ You're one of my favorite reviewers! You always leave me such a nice long one... and you thought my ficlet was funny? Great! Thank you very much for your review, as always!

_Mattb3671:_ Thank YOU! .:grins:. Steady reviewers are always nice. And I'm writing now! My next Songs chapter is due very soon... It's almost done, and very long, to make up for lateness!

_Lali: _Speaking of **lateness...** are you still planning on reviewing? It would be nice... You certainly abuse my sanity (via poking) enough that you could spare a review for an old friend... couldn't you? Please?

**A/N**: I'm so sorry for the late update! I got overwhelmed with illness and work... again. Sigh. Actually, I cut this chapter a bit short (hence a very awkward transition) because of that. I'm so sorry! Again...

**A/N 2**: At this point, HB has _nooo_ idea Cat now looks a bit 'different' all the time, instead of only when she's angry. That's the basis for this chapter… Andthe next oneinvolves fluff! No, Fluff! With a capital! Ipromise!(End A/N, start fic.)

The next morning was a drizzly gray, the sky pressing down on top of the land, so close overhead that Cat kept on wanting to duck. Even though it was misting she was up early, out in her garden. It was starting to grow into something more than bare earth and twigs, due to her powers, but the shrubs were still small and the spaces between the plants hadn't filled in. There were still large empty areas, just starting to mist over with the fragile, feathery green sprouts of weeds. Cat sighed and bent to her knees, pulling them out of the ground. (1)

_Later that day, about one in the afternoon:_

Cat got to her feet with a heavy sigh. She had been gardening all day, missing lunch. She was splashed with mud from when the rain had picked up and soaking wet, with smudges in green and brown from plant matter and dirt over-laying her natural deeper-green and lighter-brown coloring. Her hair, pulled back in a doubled-over ponytail, was wet and bedraggled, loose strands plastered to her skin from the rain. The skin on her face felt too-tight and salty, from the tears she had shed while she was gardening. She had no doubt she was a sight for sore eyes (2), and probably nearly as miserable looking as she felt.

She trudged into the BPRD, then headed towards her room, head bowed and paying very little attention to where she was going. She was stopped by a voice suddenly saying, "What the **hell** happened to you?"

"Angry leprechauns with green food dye," replied Cat glumly, walking past Hellboy and into her room. The tree snapped shut behind her.

Hellboy turned around and walked away, knowing that he couldn't get through Cat's sort-of door without destroying it completely, and _she_ certainly wasn't going to open it.

He entered Professor Broom's office. "Ah, hello. I've been meaning to talk to you, actually." Began his adoptive father. "Cat may be a bit… moody for a while. You know her physical reactions to strong negative emotions? It's taken a… permanent change. She looks like that all the time now, as far as we can tell. While she's in puberty she may be a bit… unstable. No, that's not the word; she's not dangerous, or liable to go insane. Cat's powers are developing and stabling."

"Right. Did you know she was in her garden all morning? I don't think she even ate."

Professor Broom frowned. "No, I didn't know. Thank you for telling me. This is... unsettling. I knew she'd take it hard, but that's extreme. I'll have Liz go talk to her, I think. They seem to get along well."

Hellboy turned abruptly and left the room, tail twitching slightly. Professor Broom watched him go, a slight smile on his face.

Cat sat glumly on her bed, hair damp from her shower. At least she was warm and damp now, as opposed to cold and wet. Her back hurt too, probably from hunching over too long. That was just what she needed, a strained back on top of everything else… life really hated her, didn't it?

Her stomach growled softly, insisting she get something to eat **now** before something drastic happened. Muttering slightly under her breath she walked out of her room, brushing her door affectionately, though her actions were slightly bittersweet, as she left. (3)

Cat walked to the kitchen, knowing that it was too late in the day for lunch to be available. She would have to cook it herself… _I wonder what they have to work with…_ she thought, a slight smile coming into her eyes.

Liz walked in about a half hour later.

"What on earth is that smell?" she demanded.

"Spaghetti, cooked right," replied Cat. "Want some?"

"Yes! How do you make it smell that good?"

"Family secret."

"Damn."

"Use lots of garlic. And thyme, sage, oregano, basil and fresh rosemary. And onions."

"I thought it was secret?"

"Yeah. I guess… I guess you count as family now. I'm still not going to tell you my other secret."

"What other secret?"

"**Nobody** finds out my cookie recipes."

"You're a strange one, Cat."

"Yeah… I guess I am," said the younger girl with a sigh. "Oh well. There's pie after the pasta."

"Why all the cooking?" asked Liz, looking up from her spaghetti. (4)

"Comfort thing. Don't ask me to explain it. I guess pasta and apple pie are just comfort foods for me."

"We all have our quirks. My comfort food is tapioca pudding, so there we are…" (5) said Liz as Cat served them both pie.

Cat took a bite, sighing happily. "I love apple pie. Always have."

Liz looked at her portion after her first bite, slightly surprised. "This tastes weird… not bad weird, just different."

"I'm allergic to cinnamon. I use nutmeg instead. And two secret ingredients."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Definitely no."

(1) This is one of the worst garden chores. They're so small and so dense on the ground that it takes forever and gets you nowhere. Irritating as hell.

(2) I've never understood this one… I don't think it's actually supposed to make sense. .:laughs:.

(3) Her door is still a tree, remember? She doesn't have any inordinate affection for doors, just trees. You would too, if you could talk with them… I'm pretty sure. I don't know you, the hypothetical reader, though, so I can't say for sure!

(4) Actually, it's sphagettini, but she doesn't know that.

(5) My, there certainly is a lot of these today! Just for the record, I have no idea if Liz's comfort food is ever touched on in anything with any reality to it, so I'm making something up. Anyone who knows if she actually has a real one, please tell me in a review… Just review in general, actually. It's the nice thing to do!

**A/N:** Reviews make me happy. Happy people are fun to be around... and more likely to write nice fluffy scenes. So please review!


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